Process of producing sulfur dioxid.



B. ROSSITER. I PROCESS OF PRODUCING SULFUR DIOXID.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.9,1910.

1,039,812. Patented Oct; 1,1912.

ERNEST ROSSITER, OF PORT EDWARDS, WISCONSIN.

PROCESS OF EPRODUCING SULFUR DIOXID.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application filed September 15, 1910, Serial No. 582,161.Divided and this application filed December 9, 1910. Serial No. 596,487.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNES RossITnR, a resident of Port Edwards, in thecounty of Wood and State of Wisconsin, have invented a certain new anduseful Process for Producing Sulfur Dioxid, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to an improved process for producing sulfur dioxidmore efliciently and economically.

For the production of sulfur dioxid, sulfur is usually burned in thepresence of air. In prior processes the sulfur is discharged into wovenand ignited, means being provided to agitate the sulfur and to mix airtherewith during such burning, the product being sulfur dioxid (S0 thisproduct being led away to be used for various purposes in various arts.However, thesulfur gas which is formed in the compartment in which thesulfur is agitated and burned will carry in suspension small solidparticles of sulfur, and if this gas is drawn directly from thecombustion chamber it will be more or less impure and not in the bestand fittest condition for use for a great many purposes.

One object of my invention, is, therefore, to give the nascent sulfurgas a secondary combustion treatment in order to thoroughly burn allsuch sulfur particles in order to produce a gas which is entirely pureand which can be used to better advantage in the arts, such as intreating pulp in the paper manufacturing art.

Another object is to utilize the heat of the burning main body of sulfurfor heating the gas during its secondary or purifying treatment.

Another object is to mix a suflicie'nt quantity of air in the mostetlicient manner with the sulfur gas during the purifying period.

I shall first describe the apparatus for carrying out my improvedprocess, whereafter this process will be more clearly un-' derstood.

In my co-pending application, Serial No. 582,161,-filed September15,l910,'c1aims covering apparatus and process for producing sulfurdioxid were submitted, and; this present application may be consideredas a divisional application in view of the. Examiners request toseparate process claims from the apparatus claims. The apparatusdescribed in this co-pending application I prefer to use for carryingout my improved process, although other suitable apparatus can be used.The apparatus of this co-pending application is therefore describedherein, and in the-accompanying drawings showing such apparatus- Figure1 is a plan view of the apparatus, Fig. 2 is an end view of the outletend, Fig. 3 is an end view of the other end, and Fig. l is a sectionalview taken on plane 4t 1, Fig. 2. l

The supporting bed 1, which may be of a number of I-beanis, carries aplurality of transverse members 2, which may also be I-bcams, thesetransverse members supporting various bearings for the drive and drumsupporting mechanism. As shown, the shaft 3 is journaled in bearings land carries at one end a bevel gear 5 engaged by bevel pinion 6 on adrive shaft 7, which may be connected with a suitable driving source(not shown). Shaft 3 extends longitudinally along one side of and overthe bed and carries rollers 8 and 9, while at the opposite side of thebed a shaft 10 is journaled and carries rollers 11- and 12, which arerespectively transversely opposite the rollers 8 and 9. An outer drum orbarrel '13 has annular bands or rails Li and '15 en gaging with rollers8.. 11 and 9, 1.2 respec tively to thus support the drum 13 to berotated upon rotation of shaft by the driving source. The drum 13 may becon structed of two similar halves having pe rip-heral flanges 16 and 17coxmectcd together by suitable bolts 18. Within the outer drum 13 is theinner primary combustioi. drum 19 which may also be constructed ofsimilar halves having peripheral flanges 20 and 21 connected together bybolts 22, the.

diameter of this inner drum being somewhat less than the diameter of theouter drum to leave an annular compartment 23, the inner drum havingspacing lugs 24: extending therefrom in line with the bands 14 and 15 ofthe outbr drum to space the drums apart. As shownf the left ends of thedrums are semispherical, and the outer drum walls are Patented Oct.1,1912.

' and the contracted end of the inner drum a compartment drum with thecompartment 42. In the adextended near the axis to form the annular neck26, which terminates in a flange 27 adapted to be connected to a flange28 at the end of piping 29 with which a pump (notshown) is connected.The other end of the inner drum is contracted and terminates in a neck30 which extends through the axial opening 31 in the corresponding endof the outer drum,t his neck terminating in a flange 32 having bearingin an annular head 83 supported from the bed 1 by a standard frame 34.The entrance through this annular head is adapted to be closed by a door35 hinged at 36 and having the latch 37, the door having segmentopenings 38 controllable by the rotatable damper39 pivoted to the door.At the'left end air inlet ducts 40 extend through and between the wallsof the outer and inner drums and are controllable from the exterior bypivoted damper disks 41. The right end of the outer barrel remainscylindrical, so that between this end inner drum will ordinarily bethrough the inlets 40. This air, flowing through the burning sulfur andthrough the unburned sulfur, will take on "and hold in suspensionunoxidized sulfur molecules, and if the gas were delivered for usedirectly from the inner drum it would be quite impure on account of theunoxidized sulfur therein and could not be used with the best resultsand the greatest efficiency. However, the impure nascent gas, before itcan be delivered for use, must first circulate through the compartment23 which intimately surrounds the hot inner drum containing the burningsulfur, and the gas passing through the compartment 23 is thereforegiven a secondary heating, and in the presence of sufficient air which,by force of the pump, is drawn through the properly regulated dampers 45into the compartment 23 to be thoroughly mixed with the gas, so that thesulfur particles in the gas will be thoroughly burned and converted intosulfur dioxid and the delivered gas will therefore be of maximum purityand in the best condition for subsequent use in the various arts, as forexample, in chemical pulp making in the paper manufacturing art. Myprocess therefore involves the primary combustion of sulfur in onecompartment, the thorough tumbling about and agitating of the burningsulfur in such compartment, the controllable supply of air into saidcompartment, the drawing ofi of the nascent impure gas from thiscompartment into a secondary compartment, the heating of the impure gasin this secondary compartment by the heat generated by the burningsulfur in the primary compartment, the controllable supplying of airinto the secondary compartment, and the provision of suction means forin common causing the flow of air supply into the compartments head &2is formed for the annular chamber 23 between the drums. Through thewalls of the inner drum are the passageways 43 for connecting the innerjacent head of the outer compartment are air inlet openings a lcontrolled by rotatable dampers 45. As shown in Fig. 1, the outer drumhas also a plurality of cleaning manholes 4-.6 which may be closed bycovers 47.

Sulfur, usually in powdered form, is charged into the inner drum throughthe door 35, and the sulfur is ignited and the drums slowly rotated totumble about and to thoroughly agitate the burning sulfur within thedrum. The pump (not shown) connecting with the outlet pipe 29 is set inoperation, and the suction effect thereof will cause air to be drawnthrough the air inlets .40, through the air inlets 38, if the damper 39is open, and through the air inlets d4: to the annular compartment. Theair flowing into the combustion drum flows longitudinally therethrough,and is thoroughly mixed and co-mingled with the burning sulfur as it istumbled about and across the drum, so that sulfur dioxid is formed. Thesuction efiect on the air inlet openings of the inner drum is by way ofthe outer compartment 23 and the communicating passageways 43 betweenthe inner drum and said annular compartment, and the generated gas willbe drawn through the passageways 43 into com partment 42 and throughcompartment 23 and out through the piping 29 to be delivered into astorage tank or to a place where it ,is desired to utilize-the gas. Thedoor 35 may be opened at any time to inspect the interior of the innerdrum, and the damper 39 can be regulated to assist in supplying air tothis drum, and ordinarily this damper is closed, so that the air supplyto the and the delivery of the pure gas from the auxiliary or secondarycompartment.

Having thus described my invention, I claim the following:

1. The process of producing sulfur dioxid, which consists in burningsulfur in a substantially closed compartment, thoroughly agitating theburning sulfur in contact with air whereby sulfur dioxid gas is formed,drawing from said compartment the sulfur gas as it is formed, utilizingsubstantially all the heat radiated by said compartment walls to furtherheat the drawn-off sulfur gas, and supplying to the gas during suchfurther heating thereof air in amount sufficient to completely burn allthe contained vaporized sulfur.

2. The process of producing sulfur dioxid, which consists in burningsulfur in a substantially closed compartment, thoroughly agitating theburning sulfur and supplying air thereto whereby sulfur dioxid gas isformed, drawing from said compartment the.

sulfur gas as it is formed, utilizing substantially all of the heatgenerated by the burning sulfur to further heat the drawn-off sulfurgas, and supplying to the gas during such further heating thereof air inamount sufi'icient to completely burn all the c0nmined vaporized sulfur.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 6th day ofDecember, A. D. 1910.

ERNEST ROSSITER.

Witnesses J. E. BRYAN, A. U. MARVIN.

